Marlborough Gazette and Herald HQ turned into gallery

The old Gazette and Herald offices, on the corner of Kingsbury Street and Silverless Street in Marlborough, closed in October 2011.

The building had been a newspaper office for over 80 years and before that a homemade sweet shop.

At different times over the last decade, the property was used as a shop and storage space but had been empty since May 2023 when it was bought by Nicolas Hayes.

Mr Hayes embarked on a project to restore the old building to its former glory after finding it in a state of disrepair.

READ MORE: What town centre could look like if regeneration plans get green light

The gallery (Image: Nicolas Hayes) He said: “The property was in a state of advanced dilapidation when we bought it, and we felt such a prominent building needed to look its best again.

“The building needed to be fully renovated and restored because it was falling into ruin, the windows were falling out and the ceiling was falling in.”

This scheme had only just been completed later that year when the former office was struck by a lorry in an incident that posed a major setback for Mr Hayes.

He added: “It was about a week after completing the restoration when I got a phone call from a neighbour to say a lorry had knocked the side of the building off.”

Repair works resumed in 2024 and by the end of the year the building had been reopened as a gallery named Silverless Corner, where local artist Jenna Tatham is currently in residence.

The site will be opened up to other artists in the area shortly and has also been used for a charity auction in memory of the late artist Karon Staniland to raise money for Dementia UK.

Benjamin Thompson at the cottage (Image: Nicolas Hayes) Mr Hayes added: “I decided not to let the building out and instead left it as a space for artists to showcase their work.

“There are so many young artists in the area and they need somewhere to display their work but there really aren’t many places to do that for free in Marlborough.”

The restoration of the Gazette and Herald offices is the second significant project Mr Hayes completed in the last year.

He also oversaw a 10-week rethatching job at Little Thatch and Lilac Cottage in Easterton, near Devizes.

The cottages, which were built around 1650, are a “focal point” for the village and were restored by Master Thatcher Benjamin Thompson after falling into a poor condition.